The Domino Effect-Part 8
Headers and disclaimers in part 1
The trip to the hospital was very hard on Mulder.
Every time his body was racked with chills, his
stomach muscles complained mightily. By the time the
car pulled up to the emergency entrance, he was on
the verge of losing consciousness. The transfer from
the car to the gurney didn't even pull him from his
stupor. Skinner looked on, growing more worried by
the second.
The attendants took him straight to an examining
room, while Skinner was left to deal with the
admitting process. The AD fervently wished Scully
could have been there in his place. Mulder coped so
much better when she was with him at times like this.
By the time the AD was allowed into the examining
room, Mulder's clothes had been replaced with a
hospital gown, an IV had been inserted and he was
hooked up to the standard monitoring equipment. He
looked dreadful and it didn't take a doctor to note
that his heart monitor was reading a rather worrying
elevated rate.
"Well, Agent Mulder. Here we are again."
"Where's Scully?" Mulder asked weakly. "Need her."
He seemed to be having a little difficulty breathing
and his lucidity appeared to be failing too.
"She's coming in the morning, Mulder. She needs to
get a good night's sleep," Skinner explained gently.
"What happened? How did I get here? You're sure
Scully's not hurt?"
"She's fine, Mulder. You've both been ill. Don't
you remember?" Skinner was a bit taken aback at his
agent's confused condition.
"Um, not sure. Feel sick though. So cold," he
shivered. "Can I have a blanket?"
Skinner looked to the nurse who was writing in
Mulder's chart. "Mr. Mulder, remember I told you
that you have a very high fever? We need to cool you
down, not warm you up."
"I'll just get it myself," he decided, attempting to
get up.
"Easy, Mulder!" Skinner warned, gently pushing him
back. He noted with alarm that Mulder's monitor was
starting to sound most unhappy at the exertion he was
creating by his movements.
"Mr. Mulder, you need to stay in bed or else we'll
have to use restraints. Do you understand?"
"Uh-huh, but I'm so cold." He sounded almost like a
little boy as he tried to curl up into a tight ball.
"We're trying to make you more comfortable, Mr.
Mulder. I just put some nice medicine in your IV.
It should start to make you feel better pretty soon."
"Just want to get warm," he mumbled as he dozed off.
"The doctor ordered a sedative," the nurse explained.
"His temp is close to 105. We're going to give him a
tepid bath now and try to keep him as comfortable as
possible while they get his room ready upstairs."
The doctor breezed into the room. "I'm Doctor
Kensington." He offered his hand to Skinner
"Walter Skinner. I'm Agent Mulder's supervisor,"
Skinner informed him as they shook hands.
"We're going to get some lab work done here in the ER
and then we'll be sending him upstairs as soon as
they're ready for him."
"Any idea what we might be dealing with?"
"Dr. Lamas suspects a kidney infection, and my
preliminary exam agrees with that. We're going to
insert a catheter, get a urine sample and take some
blood for a complete work-up. After we get the
results we'll know a little more about how to treat
him."
"I see."
"He's pretty sick right now. We're going to work on
getting his temperature down quite aggressively too.
Will you be staying with him?"
"For a few hours at least."
The doctor gave Skinner a knowing look and shuffled
his feet as he spoke again quietly. "He'll need
someone with him until his fever is more manageable,
otherwise we'll have to put him in restraints. From
what Dr. Lamas indicated, the hotel will be picking
up the tab on this, so I could call in a private duty
nurse if you like."
"No, I'd rather stay. He needs someone he knows."
"As you wish."
Skinner crossed his arms over his chest. "Exactly
how sick is he? I mean will he recover quickly once
you find the correct treatment, or will this be a
long, involved recuperation?"
"Mr. Skinner, right now he's in serious condition.
His recovery will depend on a lot of factors, but
let's hope for the best right now."
"Which would be?"
"That he'll be up and around in a few days. Plan on
a minimum 48-hour hospitalization. Now, if you'll
excuse me, I'll get his orders written and see about
getting him upstairs. Dr. Lamas did request a deluxe
private room, so you should be fairly comfortable."
"Thank you, Doctor."
As he left, the nurse prepared to insert the
catheter. He grinned to himself. He knew that
Mulder would really hate that. He wished for the
umpteenth time that Scully was there in his place.
No prizes for guessing whom Mulder would rather have
holding his hand about now.
"I guess you'll want me to leave?" Skinner
questioned, hoping that she would say yes.
"No, it's all right. You can stay. He might feel a
little more comfortable with a friend here."
Skinner grimaced as she inserted the tube. Mulder
stirred and whispered, "Scully, wait until I feel
better," then dozed off again.
That gave Skinner some food for thought. He grinned
widely, sheepishly looking anywhere but at his agent,
and wondered how much was in the office pool at this
point.
The nurse busied herself with recording the supplies
used and keeping an eye on the monitors. "Who's
Scully?"
"She's his partner at the F.B.I. and probably the
best friend he has."
"Sounds like it might be a little more intimate than
that," the nurse grinned. She winked and her whole
face lit up. Skinner grinned back.
"For right now, that's still a matter of
speculation."
"Someone should be here soon to take him to his room.
Because of his high temperature, Dr. Kensington has
requested that I remain here until the transfer. My
name is Karen Bower," she said offering her hand.
"Walter Skinner," he answered as he shook her hand.
"How long have you two worked together?"
"Around 6 and a half years, give or take a month or
two."
"Working for the F.B.I. must be a very exciting job."
"It has its moments, but it's also a lot of paper
work, continuing education and management headaches."
"Sounds very similar to nursing," she grinned.
"Are you in a supervisory position also?"
"Yes, I am. So, what brings you to Miami, Mr.
Skinner?"
"Walter, please."
"If you'll call me Karen."
"Well, Karen, it's one of those continuing education
opportunities I was referring to. Agents Mulder and
Scully were here to assist me and were felled by food
poisoning. While Agent Scully is recovering nicely,
Agent Mulder has been quite ill."
"Walter, let me assure you that Mr. Mulder will
receive the best of care here."
"If everyone is as nice as you, Agent Mulder might
actually behave himself."
She gave him a knowing smile. "Well, I happen to
think we have an excellent staff."
Mulder moaned. "Can someone turn up the heat? Damn
it to hell! Don't tell me I forgot to pay that bill
again!"
"He's really out of it," Skinner chuckled.
"Poor thing," Karen sympathized as she began running
a basin of lukewarm water. "Well, Mr. Mulder, let's
see if we can make you feel a little better."
Skinner was quickly at her side. "Here, let me carry
that for you."
"Thank you. Let me get his temp again before I start
bathing him." After a few seconds she looked at the
readout on the aural thermometer. "105.2. He's hot
as a firecracker. They'll probably put him on a
cooling blanket upstairs."
She began to gently bathe Mulder's face. When she
finished there, she untied his gown and folded it
down around his waist, baring his upper torso. She
carefully bathed his chest and arms while he
continued to shiver violently, muttering
unintelligibly all the while.
"Are you sure you couldn't at least give him a
sheet?" Skinner felt sorry for his agent and wanted
him to be comfortable.
"Walter, I wish I could, but his temperature is
dangerously high. He could go into febrile
convulsions, lapse into a coma, or suffer permanent
brain damage."
"Stop! Too cold!" Mulder complained loudly, trying
to push her hand away.
"Mulder, calm down." Skinner moved closer to the
gurney. "She's only trying to help."
"Stop it now! I'm freezing my balls off!"
"Mulder, I know you're uncomfortable, but if you
don't cooperate they will put you in restraints."
"Where's Scully? She'll give me a blanket."
"Mulder, remember Scully has been ill too. She's
resting at the hotel," Skinner urgently explained
again as Karen continued to bathe a restless Mulder.
"She's sick? Got to go to her." He made an effort
to rise and Skinner held him down with one large hand
on his chest.
"Mulder, she's feeling much better. She'll be here
to stay with you in the morning."
"Skinner, what's wrong with me? Why do I feel so
sick?" Tears began to form in his eyes and he
angrily wiped them away. Karen grabbed both of his
hands.
"Mr. Mulder, you have a high fever. You've had food
poisoning and you just don't seem to be getting any
better, but if you'll let us help you, we'll have you
up and about in no time," Karen assured him.
"'Kay. Stomach hurts."
"Are you about to vomit?"
"Don't know," he moaned. "Maybe."
Karen grabbed an emesis bowl just in time as Mulder
brought up mostly bile from his tortured stomach.
"Sorry," he gasped, collapsing back onto the gurney.
"That's all right, Mr. Mulder. Dr. Kensington left
orders for some Phenergan if you needed it. I've got
it right here in my pocket. I'm going to put it in
your IV and it should start helping in a few
minutes."
"Hate being sick. Hate being cold. Need Scully."
Mulder was panting with exhaustion, his monitor
echoing his distress.
"Mr. Mulder, don't you want to be feeling better when
she arrives? She sounds like a wonderful person."
"She is. I love her. Gotta tell her."
Skinner grinned from ear to ear. Yes, he would
definitely need to put in a call to Kimberly about
the status of the inter-office pool.
"Well, if you want to tell her, let's work on
bringing your temp down," Karen smiled.
"'Kay. What do I need to do?" Mulder asked, trying
to concentrate despite the drugs and high fever.
"You just lie there and think happy thoughts about
Scully. Let us do all of the work, okay?"
"Scully's the love of my life. So beautiful. Can't
live without her." Mulder's last words were slurred
as the drugs took over and he slid into an uneasy
sleep.
"Do you think he'll remember any of this?" Skinner
chuckled.
"I doubt it. Poor guy. He's really got it bad for
this Scully. I'd like to meet her. She sounds
pretty special."
"She'll be here bright and early, giving orders and
protecting him like a mother bear with her cub.
She's an MD in addition to being a field agent."
"Wow, really? Sounds like she has the same feelings
for him."
Skinner pushed his glasses up on his nose. It was
all he could do not to grin like an idiot. "Yes, I
would say the feeling is mutual. Say, if you have
some time to spare, why don't you come up to Mulder's
room after your shift is over and I'll make the
introductions all around. Then we could stop for a
cup of coffee before I have to go back to the
conference."
"Why, Walter, I'd love to." She flashed him a
beguiling smile. Skinner grinned back.
Their conversation was interrupted as two people from
patient transport arrived to take Mulder to his room.
Karen busied herself getting him ready and recording
his chart notes. As Skinner followed Mulder out of
the room, she handed him a piece of paper, folded in
half. He quickly looked at it. It contained her
name, address and phone number.
"Thanks," he smiled shyly. "I'll see you later?"
"Count on it. All right, let's get this poor patient
to his room so he can get more comfortable," the
nurse ordered. "Come on, Walter, I'll accompany you
there."
End Part 8
Headers and disclaimers in part 1
The trip to the hospital was very hard on Mulder.
Every time his body was racked with chills, his
stomach muscles complained mightily. By the time the
car pulled up to the emergency entrance, he was on
the verge of losing consciousness. The transfer from
the car to the gurney didn't even pull him from his
stupor. Skinner looked on, growing more worried by
the second.
The attendants took him straight to an examining
room, while Skinner was left to deal with the
admitting process. The AD fervently wished Scully
could have been there in his place. Mulder coped so
much better when she was with him at times like this.
By the time the AD was allowed into the examining
room, Mulder's clothes had been replaced with a
hospital gown, an IV had been inserted and he was
hooked up to the standard monitoring equipment. He
looked dreadful and it didn't take a doctor to note
that his heart monitor was reading a rather worrying
elevated rate.
"Well, Agent Mulder. Here we are again."
"Where's Scully?" Mulder asked weakly. "Need her."
He seemed to be having a little difficulty breathing
and his lucidity appeared to be failing too.
"She's coming in the morning, Mulder. She needs to
get a good night's sleep," Skinner explained gently.
"What happened? How did I get here? You're sure
Scully's not hurt?"
"She's fine, Mulder. You've both been ill. Don't
you remember?" Skinner was a bit taken aback at his
agent's confused condition.
"Um, not sure. Feel sick though. So cold," he
shivered. "Can I have a blanket?"
Skinner looked to the nurse who was writing in
Mulder's chart. "Mr. Mulder, remember I told you
that you have a very high fever? We need to cool you
down, not warm you up."
"I'll just get it myself," he decided, attempting to
get up.
"Easy, Mulder!" Skinner warned, gently pushing him
back. He noted with alarm that Mulder's monitor was
starting to sound most unhappy at the exertion he was
creating by his movements.
"Mr. Mulder, you need to stay in bed or else we'll
have to use restraints. Do you understand?"
"Uh-huh, but I'm so cold." He sounded almost like a
little boy as he tried to curl up into a tight ball.
"We're trying to make you more comfortable, Mr.
Mulder. I just put some nice medicine in your IV.
It should start to make you feel better pretty soon."
"Just want to get warm," he mumbled as he dozed off.
"The doctor ordered a sedative," the nurse explained.
"His temp is close to 105. We're going to give him a
tepid bath now and try to keep him as comfortable as
possible while they get his room ready upstairs."
The doctor breezed into the room. "I'm Doctor
Kensington." He offered his hand to Skinner
"Walter Skinner. I'm Agent Mulder's supervisor,"
Skinner informed him as they shook hands.
"We're going to get some lab work done here in the ER
and then we'll be sending him upstairs as soon as
they're ready for him."
"Any idea what we might be dealing with?"
"Dr. Lamas suspects a kidney infection, and my
preliminary exam agrees with that. We're going to
insert a catheter, get a urine sample and take some
blood for a complete work-up. After we get the
results we'll know a little more about how to treat
him."
"I see."
"He's pretty sick right now. We're going to work on
getting his temperature down quite aggressively too.
Will you be staying with him?"
"For a few hours at least."
The doctor gave Skinner a knowing look and shuffled
his feet as he spoke again quietly. "He'll need
someone with him until his fever is more manageable,
otherwise we'll have to put him in restraints. From
what Dr. Lamas indicated, the hotel will be picking
up the tab on this, so I could call in a private duty
nurse if you like."
"No, I'd rather stay. He needs someone he knows."
"As you wish."
Skinner crossed his arms over his chest. "Exactly
how sick is he? I mean will he recover quickly once
you find the correct treatment, or will this be a
long, involved recuperation?"
"Mr. Skinner, right now he's in serious condition.
His recovery will depend on a lot of factors, but
let's hope for the best right now."
"Which would be?"
"That he'll be up and around in a few days. Plan on
a minimum 48-hour hospitalization. Now, if you'll
excuse me, I'll get his orders written and see about
getting him upstairs. Dr. Lamas did request a deluxe
private room, so you should be fairly comfortable."
"Thank you, Doctor."
As he left, the nurse prepared to insert the
catheter. He grinned to himself. He knew that
Mulder would really hate that. He wished for the
umpteenth time that Scully was there in his place.
No prizes for guessing whom Mulder would rather have
holding his hand about now.
"I guess you'll want me to leave?" Skinner
questioned, hoping that she would say yes.
"No, it's all right. You can stay. He might feel a
little more comfortable with a friend here."
Skinner grimaced as she inserted the tube. Mulder
stirred and whispered, "Scully, wait until I feel
better," then dozed off again.
That gave Skinner some food for thought. He grinned
widely, sheepishly looking anywhere but at his agent,
and wondered how much was in the office pool at this
point.
The nurse busied herself with recording the supplies
used and keeping an eye on the monitors. "Who's
Scully?"
"She's his partner at the F.B.I. and probably the
best friend he has."
"Sounds like it might be a little more intimate than
that," the nurse grinned. She winked and her whole
face lit up. Skinner grinned back.
"For right now, that's still a matter of
speculation."
"Someone should be here soon to take him to his room.
Because of his high temperature, Dr. Kensington has
requested that I remain here until the transfer. My
name is Karen Bower," she said offering her hand.
"Walter Skinner," he answered as he shook her hand.
"How long have you two worked together?"
"Around 6 and a half years, give or take a month or
two."
"Working for the F.B.I. must be a very exciting job."
"It has its moments, but it's also a lot of paper
work, continuing education and management headaches."
"Sounds very similar to nursing," she grinned.
"Are you in a supervisory position also?"
"Yes, I am. So, what brings you to Miami, Mr.
Skinner?"
"Walter, please."
"If you'll call me Karen."
"Well, Karen, it's one of those continuing education
opportunities I was referring to. Agents Mulder and
Scully were here to assist me and were felled by food
poisoning. While Agent Scully is recovering nicely,
Agent Mulder has been quite ill."
"Walter, let me assure you that Mr. Mulder will
receive the best of care here."
"If everyone is as nice as you, Agent Mulder might
actually behave himself."
She gave him a knowing smile. "Well, I happen to
think we have an excellent staff."
Mulder moaned. "Can someone turn up the heat? Damn
it to hell! Don't tell me I forgot to pay that bill
again!"
"He's really out of it," Skinner chuckled.
"Poor thing," Karen sympathized as she began running
a basin of lukewarm water. "Well, Mr. Mulder, let's
see if we can make you feel a little better."
Skinner was quickly at her side. "Here, let me carry
that for you."
"Thank you. Let me get his temp again before I start
bathing him." After a few seconds she looked at the
readout on the aural thermometer. "105.2. He's hot
as a firecracker. They'll probably put him on a
cooling blanket upstairs."
She began to gently bathe Mulder's face. When she
finished there, she untied his gown and folded it
down around his waist, baring his upper torso. She
carefully bathed his chest and arms while he
continued to shiver violently, muttering
unintelligibly all the while.
"Are you sure you couldn't at least give him a
sheet?" Skinner felt sorry for his agent and wanted
him to be comfortable.
"Walter, I wish I could, but his temperature is
dangerously high. He could go into febrile
convulsions, lapse into a coma, or suffer permanent
brain damage."
"Stop! Too cold!" Mulder complained loudly, trying
to push her hand away.
"Mulder, calm down." Skinner moved closer to the
gurney. "She's only trying to help."
"Stop it now! I'm freezing my balls off!"
"Mulder, I know you're uncomfortable, but if you
don't cooperate they will put you in restraints."
"Where's Scully? She'll give me a blanket."
"Mulder, remember Scully has been ill too. She's
resting at the hotel," Skinner urgently explained
again as Karen continued to bathe a restless Mulder.
"She's sick? Got to go to her." He made an effort
to rise and Skinner held him down with one large hand
on his chest.
"Mulder, she's feeling much better. She'll be here
to stay with you in the morning."
"Skinner, what's wrong with me? Why do I feel so
sick?" Tears began to form in his eyes and he
angrily wiped them away. Karen grabbed both of his
hands.
"Mr. Mulder, you have a high fever. You've had food
poisoning and you just don't seem to be getting any
better, but if you'll let us help you, we'll have you
up and about in no time," Karen assured him.
"'Kay. Stomach hurts."
"Are you about to vomit?"
"Don't know," he moaned. "Maybe."
Karen grabbed an emesis bowl just in time as Mulder
brought up mostly bile from his tortured stomach.
"Sorry," he gasped, collapsing back onto the gurney.
"That's all right, Mr. Mulder. Dr. Kensington left
orders for some Phenergan if you needed it. I've got
it right here in my pocket. I'm going to put it in
your IV and it should start helping in a few
minutes."
"Hate being sick. Hate being cold. Need Scully."
Mulder was panting with exhaustion, his monitor
echoing his distress.
"Mr. Mulder, don't you want to be feeling better when
she arrives? She sounds like a wonderful person."
"She is. I love her. Gotta tell her."
Skinner grinned from ear to ear. Yes, he would
definitely need to put in a call to Kimberly about
the status of the inter-office pool.
"Well, if you want to tell her, let's work on
bringing your temp down," Karen smiled.
"'Kay. What do I need to do?" Mulder asked, trying
to concentrate despite the drugs and high fever.
"You just lie there and think happy thoughts about
Scully. Let us do all of the work, okay?"
"Scully's the love of my life. So beautiful. Can't
live without her." Mulder's last words were slurred
as the drugs took over and he slid into an uneasy
sleep.
"Do you think he'll remember any of this?" Skinner
chuckled.
"I doubt it. Poor guy. He's really got it bad for
this Scully. I'd like to meet her. She sounds
pretty special."
"She'll be here bright and early, giving orders and
protecting him like a mother bear with her cub.
She's an MD in addition to being a field agent."
"Wow, really? Sounds like she has the same feelings
for him."
Skinner pushed his glasses up on his nose. It was
all he could do not to grin like an idiot. "Yes, I
would say the feeling is mutual. Say, if you have
some time to spare, why don't you come up to Mulder's
room after your shift is over and I'll make the
introductions all around. Then we could stop for a
cup of coffee before I have to go back to the
conference."
"Why, Walter, I'd love to." She flashed him a
beguiling smile. Skinner grinned back.
Their conversation was interrupted as two people from
patient transport arrived to take Mulder to his room.
Karen busied herself getting him ready and recording
his chart notes. As Skinner followed Mulder out of
the room, she handed him a piece of paper, folded in
half. He quickly looked at it. It contained her
name, address and phone number.
"Thanks," he smiled shyly. "I'll see you later?"
"Count on it. All right, let's get this poor patient
to his room so he can get more comfortable," the
nurse ordered. "Come on, Walter, I'll accompany you
there."
End Part 8